New Music Albums November 2024
We’ve been listening to a bumper load of records recently and will be bringing you the best of these over the next few weeks. To start with, here are five albums we KNOW you will like! Now, you might think that’s a big statement to make (and it is), but trust us and remember to thank us later……….
Artist: Mo Dotti
Album: Opaque
Top tier Shoegaze. While clearly indebted to Isn’t Anything era MBV, that influence also extends back to their earlier 12”s and the Ecstasy mini LP, which means this in a welcome move also incorporates some lovely, melodic and buzzy C86 jangle-pop. Great songwriting with gorgeous melodies and a luscious voice that compliments the fabulous musicianship throughout. An excellent, if not entirely original album which is a highlight of 2024.
To order the album, head to the Mo Dotti Bandcamp page here.
Artist: Molina
Album: When You Wake Up
Label: Escho
Glorious, dreamy pop with a rich, refined and coloured timbre which underpins the strongly crafted songs. It’s an incredibly considered production that partly hints at the unavoidable debt to MBV and the Cocteau Twins but has an elegance to all proceedings which gives this a rich individuality.
To order the Molina album, visit their Bandcamp page here.
Artist: Tony Jay
Album: Knife Is But A Dream
Label: Slumberland Records LLC/Paisley Shirt Records
Expressive and clever songs are at the heart of this new release. Texturally this is very interesting; clearly coming from Lo-Fi origins it utilises the seeming limitations at Jay’s disposal to create something that feels to reach ‘just beyond‘ and generates substance that is rather lovely. Gorgeous at times, actually. Lilting, sunlit melodies burst through with an acoustic guitar chime that reaches out from swathes of heavenly noise to create something wondrous. There’s so much to enjoy here I can’t rate and recommend this record highly enough.
For more on Tony Jay and the new album, head to the Bandcamp page here.
Artist: New Issue
Album: Diminished and Transmitting
Label: Fontee Fount Recordings
An enjoyable album that at its core is full of strong melodies and interesting arrangements, namely a combination of dreamy and floaty female vocals hidden underneath a variety of soft effects that often contrast with the far harsher male vocals on other tracks.
A simple approach would have been for the band to use said soothing female vocals over gentle soundscapes and the male vocal over the more intensely blistering guitar sonics. Refreshingly though, these contrasts switch throughout, keeping the listener keenly engaged.
Cue and Loose Structures exemplify these contrasts with the former being reminiscent of very early Spiritualized and the latter being more viscous yet controlled. I really enjoyed this release despite knowing literally nothing about the band beforehand.
To order Diminished and Transmitting, head to the Bandcamp page here.
Artist: Quiet Commotion
Album: Red Grasshoppers
Label: Anomic Records
A strong release. For me, knowing nothing about this band before listening, there was an awareness of a compelling Belle and Sebastian hint to the vocal delivery and some unusual time signatures on certain tracks which are both equally welcome. Despite some clearly strong songs there’s a sense of overall limited dynamics across the album, most especially a lack of balance in the arrangements and instrumentation, missing some much needed textural variation.
However, there’s a huge amount going for this and from familiarising myself with earlier releases, it feels there’s been strong progression and I certainly expect more satisfying output soon.
For more on Quiet Commotion, head to their Bandcamp page here.
Grant McPhee
@GrantMcPheeFilm
Links:
@Modottimusic
@Escho
@PaisleyShirtRec
@SlumberlandRecs